


Long Live Us

by hheroes



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, shipping week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-22 15:52:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4841381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hheroes/pseuds/hheroes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raphril Week 2015 entries. Seven prompts, seven days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But standing next to Donnie is April, a mess of hair sitting on her shoulders and in a strange combination of tiny shorts and an oversized t-shirt, glasses on her nose and slouched in the universal ‘it’s too early for this shit’ position, and looking at her suddenly feels like staring at the sun.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I needed to ask you about something-anything, even embarrassing shit-could I?"

Donnie doesn't flinch, not that Raph's surprised. His brothers got his hands wrist-deep in some weird shit from the junkyard, the color staining his skin almost worse than the stink, but not quite. It's a miracle if Donnie hears him at all, when he's like this-entirely focused on sciencing the hell out of New Yorkers' shit, up to and including the literal kind.

"What if I wanted to know a science thing? Like some biological shit. I can't exactly google stuff about mutants, you know?" he continues, idly cracking his knuckles with the palm of his other hand. "Could I ask you about that?"

The thing Donnie's working on shudders a stuttering sigh and then sputters to life, briefly, before whirring spectacularly and shutting down again. Donnie pencils something down and then starts tweaking it.

"What if I-"

"If I say 'yes, you can ask' will that shut you up quicker?"

Raph nods.

This time the long-suffering sigh comes from Donnie. "Fine, then. My answer is yes. Hand me the 15." He gestures at the wrench sitting by Raph's elbow, palm up and waiting expectantly.

Raph drops it into his open hand, and Donnie makes a sound akin to a grunt that most likely means 'thank you.' He hunches over his - it looks like a miniature blender; Raph doesn't even  _want_ to know - and sets to work again.

"You ever -"

"Torque, please."

"-seen someone and kinda felt - dizzy?"

For the first time since Raph sauntered into his lab, Donnie looks interested. He gives Raph a bemused look as he accepts the torque. "Dizzy?"

"Dizzy," Raph confirms. "And, uh, sweaty."

"Sweaty."

"Yeah."

"Hmm," says Donnie, which is Donnie-speak for ' _I am trying to bullshit something_.' It's not a reassuring sound, and Raph scowls at him.

"Well?"

"Dizziness and sweat are symptoms of a lot of different things, Raph. It could be fever or flu or a bug, or exhaustion or dehydration." Then Donnie grins. "Or something else entirely."

"Something else like what?"

"Infatuation," Donnie says with all the calm of a peaceful day at sea.

Raph chokes on the spot, making a loud enough spectacle that Donnie tears his eyes off his robot to send a smirk his way.

"That's definitely not it," Raph croaks, trying to ignore the weakness of his own voice. "It's probably that fever thing."

"Mhmm."

"Yeah, I've been feeling a little warm, lately. And not just because I was laying in the sun or something."

"Mhmm," Donnie repeats, somehow more smug than the last time.

Raph pushes himself off Donnie's lab table and gets the hell out of dodge.

The end of the world takes place in Donnie's lab the next morning.

Raph's still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, oblivious to the fate he's walking into, and Donnie's name is barely a grunt through his teeth when he cracks open one of his eyes and feels the air get sucked right out of his body.

It's been about a month since any major events-a month since they saved the redhead girl and dropped her off on her fire escape, and a month of her sneaking into the sewers every night to come say hi. If Raph's going to be honest, he's pretty amazed by her stubbornness is damn impressive-but he's not about to write sonnets about her or anything.

But standing next to Donnie is April, a mess of hair sitting on her shoulders and in a strange combination of tiny shorts and an oversized t-shirt, glasses on her nose and slouched in the universal ' _it's too early for this shit'_ position, and looking at her suddenly feels like staring at the sun.

She looks like she crawled out of bed no more than five minutes ago, but Raph suddenly has  _iambic pentameter_  in his head-and he doesn't even know why he  _knows what that is_ , let alone why he wants to apply it to the way April looks right now-

April notices him then, and from her stooped over position over Donnie's shoulder graces Raph with a small, sleepy smile. "Morning, Raph."

He just stares at her, suddenly dizzy. He blinks, trying as hard as he can to instantly forget everything he's ever accidentally learned about poetry, and manages a short, "Hi," in response.

Donnie is hunched over a microscope and furiously scribbling  _something_ down, something Raph decidedly doesn't care about. "April stayed the night," he says in a perfect monotone, his mind no doubt a million miles away.

 _You sonuvabitch,_ Raph doesn't say. But he gives Donnie a look that pretty much translates to the same thing.

April snickers, nudging Donnie with her fist, and though he doesn't look up he does allow himself a satisfied smile. "Sorry, sorry, I thought Donnie ran it by you guys last night. He wanted help with this new experiment, and I'm sort of the head of the chemistry club at school so I figured I'd stay to help...and we, uh, got a  _little_ carried away."

"Uh huh," Raph says.

"We're running on an unholy amount of coffee and enough of whatever the hell's in energy drinks to be illegal," Donnie offers. "But I think this compound should make a good fuel source. Uh, that, or a really, really strong deodorant. I'm not really sure yet." He brightens visibly, the side of his mouth quirking up, "If it turns out to be the latter, you might want to borrow some, Raph. For that sweaty  _fever_ you think you've got."

That kicks Raph's brain into gear again, and he slaps his palm against his forehead. "Shut up, Don."

April's eyes go soft with concern. "Are you feeling sick, Raph?"

Looking at her feels like staring directly into the sun, so Raph keeps his eyes trained on Donnie in a death-glare. "No, I'm, uh, fine. Seriously." He quickly directs the conversation back to the two of them, "Did you guys get  _any_ sleep at all?"

Neither Donnie nor April say a word.

"He might've dozed around four," she says, not sounding confident in the slightest.

"Jesus Christ," Raph deadpans. "Whatever, man, it's your funeral. We've got training in ten-if you're late  _again_ Splinter's gonna smack you into next week."

"Training?" April tilts her head to the side-her glasses slip down her nose. "Can I watch?"

Is she talking to Raph? She's  _looking_ at him all expectantly and shit but he's not about to look her in the eye and answer her; who the fuck is comfortable enough to walk around a hot mess a month into being friends with someone, anyway? And who the fuck looks  _that good_ in coke-bottle glasses?

"Maybe you should change first," Donnie suggests. "But after that, sure! You'll get to see the glamorous four hours of training we put ourselves through because gods-know-why."

April laughs, nice and easy, and Raph grunts again before getting the hell out of dodge.

So. The end of the world.

It happens because April wear booty shorts to bed.

Raph has seen girls before-on TV and magazines and comics and so on, and he's always thought of them as okay. The same level of okay as guys. Humans are kind of weird, to say the least; he's not really head over heels for any of them (though Serena Williams is  _this close_ to being an exception) so forgive him if he's a little confused about why April makes his heart want to beat right out of his chest.

He's seen her when she's  _not_ half-asleep, when her hair is pulled back and she's wearing her usual outfit, and he think she looks  _nice,_ sure, but he didn't go nuts over her then. So why the hell did he practically lose his mind over the sight of her in  _pajamas._

End of the world is the only reasonable explanation; everything's going to shit, and he's going crazy.

By the time April slips into the dojo, she's in jeans and a correctly-fitting shit, but her hair's still loose around her shoulders and she's still got her glasses hooked over her ears. Raph's mid-kata when he gets a look at her, and she waves when their eyes meet, and like clockwork, he trips over his own goddamn foot and falls face forward.

_Shitshitshitshitshit-_

Leo snorts loudly, pausing to rest on his knees and shoot Raph the  _smuggest damn look._ "You okay, Raphie?" He offers a hand to pull him up.

Raph's not really sure of what's happening, but he can hear Mikey and Donnie snickering, and April somewhere between laughing and yawning. Which is way more upsetting than it should be. He knocks Leo's hand aside and stands up, grumbling under his breath, only stopping when Sensei calls him out.

He starts the kata over and tries his best to pretend that the world as he knows it isn't ending right before his eyes.

So, Leo's an asshole.

Breakfast is some weird fruity pancake stuff that April skips the last hour of training to go buy, and Raph's never had a fruit in his life, but he's gotta say, strawberries definitely have something going for them. (He eats every last strawberry in the vicinity, including April's, but only because she offered them and he could eat them without looking directly at her.)

But it's after April leaves to go to the bathroom and while Raph's got a mouthful of orange juice that Leo leans over and says, "So,  _April,_ huh?"

Raph  _huurks_ and the juice goes dribbling down his chin.

Leo laughs. Because he's an  _asshole._

"Shut  _up_ ," Raph growls, wiping the juice away with the back of his hand.

"She's really nice. And her hair smells like strawberries. I'm just surprised it took you this long to realize you like her," Leo says extra-casually. (He draws out the word  _strawberries_ and Raph wants to punch himself for walking right into that one.)

"Shut u- I don't  _like her-_ " Raph hisses. "I mean, I like her but I don't-like- _like_ her."

"Aside from being a direct quote from a twelve-year-old, that's most definitely a lie," Donnie says factually.

" _What_?"

"Raph," says Donnie, placatingly, "you're my brother, and I love you, but you've got to be the most clueless meathead I've ever met."

"Clue me in, then."

"Of  _course_ you like April," Donnie says. "You're a tongue-tied mess around her and all those 'symptoms' you were complaining about aren't a fever. The only thing you're coming down with is one hell of a crush."

When Donnie says it all out loud, it sounds-well,  _right_ -but also humiliating in a way that makes Raph want to sink right through the floor. On his left, Leo's grinning wide, all bright white teeth and sparkling eyes; on his right Donnie looks smug in a very matter-of-fact way, and it's probably a miracle Mikey's not around or else he'd be an even worse reaction than the two of them combined.

"I don't-" Raph starts.

But then he thinks about it.

It's not as rare an occurrence as Leo likes to think; Raph puts a  _lot_ of thought into some things. Feelings-things. He doesn't say much about emotions but he feels that more acutely than any of his family does, he feels every little sharp spike of anger or rising wave of happiness. He feels every single moment of despair or surprise or confusion.

He feels a lot of different things about April.

Her second trip to the lair had been a pretty momentous thing. It was the first time she came alone, for one, and the first time Raph got to talk to her alone. (That was when he learned about their mutual love for Charred Walls, and the first time she'd ever mentioned school and the human world to him-and they'd talked about movies and people and just about everything.)

"I mean, I just-"

He's only known her for a month. And that's an impossibly long time to him, because he's never known  _anyone_ outside of his family for a month. But in real time, a month isn't that long. It's long enough for April to feel comfortable staying in the layer in PJs but it's not long enough for Raph to justify having his stomach in his throat every time he sees her.

But then again...does he really  _need_ justification?

"Oh, shit," Raph says out loud, his voice a little hoarse.

"Aaaand there it is," says Donnie.

Raph stares at him with wide eyes, caught somewhere between definite terror and tentative curiosity. He nearly jumps out of his skin when Leo touches his shoulder, and the smile on his face has softened into something faintly sympathetic.

"Like I said, I'm surprised it took so long."

Raph kind of wants to shrug his hand off, but it's the only solid thing in his mind right now, everything else is upside down and spinning. He's dizzy from it.

"What took so long?" April says brightly as she strides into the kitchen, Mikey in tow.

Frozen, Raph just stares at her.

"You did," Leo says smoothly, subtly nudging Raph out of his stupor with the heel of his hand. "And I see you brought back a stray."

Mikey sticks his tongue out at him, but April laughs as she drags Mikey toward her and slings her arm over his shoulders. She's got an inch or two on him, but she practically disappears behind Mikey's biceps when he envelopes her in a hug. "He was telling me about you guys and let me tell you, I've got  _so_ much to show you guys. Starting with sushi. I'll be dead in my grave before I let you go back to eating worms and algae."

"You, April O'Neil, are an  _angel_."

She beams at Donnie, and Raph makes a small sound in the back of his throat that almost sounds like a cry for help.

"Oh, Raph! You've  _got_ to try strawberry shortcake-my aunt makes the best kind. I'll bring some for you next time, heavy on the berries. How's that sound?"

He's all too aware of Leo's gaze on him, and Donnie's too-aloof edge in his shoulders as the two of them wait for Raph to trainwreck.

Instead, he sucks down a deep breath and manages to look at April for longer than a glance. "Sounds good, April."

"Great! It's a date." And then Mikey blows a loud raspberry into her neck and April's too busy squirming out of his grasp to notice the flushed look on Raph's face.

"Shut up," he tells Leo and Donnie before they can get a word in edgewise.

 _It's a date_ , he thinks to himself, and turns his head to the side so no one can see him smile.


	2. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph wakes up to the distinct smell of damp, musky cement and an uncomfortably familiar burn around his wrists.

Raph wakes up to the distinct smell of damp, musky cement and an uncomfortably familiar burn around his wrists.

 

He forces his eyes open and recoils at the immediate headache that comes as a result--wherever he is isn’t brightly lit but it’s still too bright for his eyes to adjust immediately. He tries to stand, and even if his knees weren’t wobbling so badly, the chains around his ankles would’ve stopped him short. And, now that he thinks about it, the burn on his wrists is rope burn, and sure enough their bound together too.

 

 _Christ_ , he thinks, dropping his head back to rest on the cement wall, _what happened?_

 

While trying to recollect the night’s memories, he feels around for his sai--and panic only well and truly hits him when he realizes he doesn’t have them. Or, rather, that someone _took them_. A ninja _never_ loses his weapon. Despite his headache, he can still imagine Splinter’s sharp, chiding voice drilling that rule into his head.

 

Raph mumbles a curse under his breath and shuts his eyes. He’ll just rest for a second, that figure all this shit out--

 

“Raph?”

 

His whole body jolts into an upright position; it’s too dark to see much but he looks around anyway. “April?”

 

“Raph? Raph! Oh thank _god._ ”

 

April’s voice sounds close, but Raph can’t see a damn thing. It doesn’t matter--he slides across the ground, ignoring the slime sticking to his legs as he goes, trying to get to her voice. “Ape? Where are we? The hell’s going on?”

 

“We got separated from the others,” she says, “and things get a little fuzzy after that, but I think Tiger Claw eventually got us. At least, I assume it’s him; none of the Shredder’s other goons could leave claw marks like this…”

 

“Claw marks?” Raph echoes. “He _scratched_ you?”

 

“After I punched him in the face, yeah.”

 

“Shit, is it bad? Are you bleeding?”

 

There’s a pause, and in the damp darkness the sound of April shifting echoes. “Eh, not anymore. Thankfully it’s under my shirt, so the fabric soaked up most of the blood.” As if sensing his rising rage, she quickly adds, “I’m okay now, though. I promise.”

 

Raph doesn’t reply, too busy trying to slow his ragged breaths as his temper flares just enough to set him off. Sure, he’s probably hurt somewhere too, and a concussion to boot, but April’s had the good favor of escaping most of these battles unscathed and the fact that Tiger Claw got his disgusting claws on her makes his blood churn. And he can’t even see the wound, can’t even help her dress it because he doesn’t know _where the fuck he is._

 

“Raph?” April’s voice is verging on panic. “Raph?”

 

“I’m here, I’m here,” he grumbles. There are metal bars from the floor to the ceiling that make up one wall, and the other three are just cement. Raph shoulders one and winces; yup, totally solid. “Where the hell is here, by the way?”

 

“I wish I knew,” says April, her voice dropped so quiet it’s hard to hear, even in the silence. “A dungeon or something? I don’t know; the Shredder’s got all kind of medieval shit up his sleeve. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

 

 _The dungeon_. Where the Shredder--that fucking _madman--_ kept Karai, back before he mutated her. It’s got the same rank smell, the same damp darkness; in fact, now that he thinks about it, the dim light is coming from the few lit lanterns by what has to be the entrance.

 

He doesn’t start panicking until he realizes he doesn’t have his phone.

 

Shitshitshit--

 

“April, do you have your--”

 

“T-phone? No. They took ‘em before they locked us in here.”

 

“So,” says Raph, unwanted fear rising in his throat, “we’re on our own here?”

 

“Yeah. We are.”

_+_

Raph jolts awake, disoriented all over again, and makes an ill attempt to lift his arms. He hisses through clenched teeth when his shoulders cramp up in response, and his tied up hands stay put tightly behind his back.

 

He’s still in the relative darkness, still alone in the cement cell, except by the iron bars there’s something gleaming in the low light and he hates how scared he is when he realizes it’s Oruku Saki.

 

The first time Raph and his brothers faced the Shredder, Raph thought he was going to _die_ , and it scared him silly. It scared them all. The Shredder was some inhuman creature of massive strength and speed and impossible ability. But Raph had gotten better since then, and when he was with his brothers, he had enough strength to face Saki without so much as twitch.

 

But right now, Raph is not with his brothers.

 

He’s alone in a dark cell.

 

Even though it doesn’t seem like it, Saki _is_ just a human, but even then he can probably hear the painfully loud _thump thump thump_ of Raph’s heart as it threatens to break right through his chest.

 

“You’re awake,” Shredder observes after a pregnant pause, barely moving. It’s hard to see if his chest is even moving with the rise and fall of his breaths.

 

Raph doesn’t make a sound.

 

“I have questions for you, turtle. The faster you talk, the swifter your death will be. I will see to that myself.”

 

Raph takes in shuddering breath. “Well, shit, I feel comforted. Thanks.”

 

Shredder tilts his head slightly. “There is no need for baseless false strength. I can _sense_ your fear, and your friend’s as well.”

 

Raph tenses all over, muscles drawing taut and he forces himself to fake calm as he grits out, “I swear if you hurt her, I’ll shove my sai so far up your ass you’ll be able to _taste_ it.”

 

Laughter shouldn’t make him flinch, but when the Shredder does it, Raph rears back as if he’s been hit.

 

“Disrespect. Impertinence. Is this what Yoshi has instilled in you? The worst of himself?” Saki laughs again, and Raph doesn’t breathe a damn word, so he continues, “April O’Neil is still alive. If you would like to keep it that way, you will answer my questions.”

 

“Let me see her,” Raph demands.

 

“Where is my daughter? Where is Karai?”

 

Anger flashes in him so quickly it makes his vision go spotty. But he bites his tongue and repeats his demand, “Let me see April.”

 

“I know you located Karai. Tell me where she is.”

 

“Listen, I can’t remember shit right now, since your damn housecat got loose and knocked me out. Even I did know where Karai is, I can’t tell you because I can’t fucking _remember_.” _Stall, Raph, stall._ “Now _let me see April_.”

 

Shredder slams a fist against the bars, and the horrible clatter reverberates in the dungeon and Raph’s skin goes clammy. “Do you think you are in the position to make demands, Raphael?”

 

“Don’t _ever_ ,” Raph hisses, desperately trying to keep himself from exploding, “say my name again.”

 

“I shall do as I please as long as you are bound and on your knees, _Raphael_.”

 

“Strike two, you fucking creep,” Raph spits. “Wanna go for a third?”

 

“You are far more ignorant than I assumed,” Shredder says acerbically.

 

“And you’re a lot more of an asshole up close.”

 

The Shredder doesn’t breathe a word. He checks the huge padlock on the iron bars, then turns briskly and walks out of the dungeon.

 

Raph’s not sure how much time goes by until April’s quiet voice calls out to him.

 

“Ape? You’re still there?”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m here.” She sounds groggy. “I think they drugged me.”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Just a headache,” she says. “And really bad cotton mouth. But I’m good.”

 

“Good, good,” Raph says and genuinely means it. “Shredder just hit me with the scariest game of 20 questions in all of history. If he tries that with you: stall, don’t tell him anything, okay? Just let him get worked up and leave.”

 

“I can do that.”

 

“Of course you can,” he says, and grins weakly. “You’re one helluva personality, April. Shredhead doesn’t know what he’s messing with, between the two of us.”

 

“The two most stubborn people in the whole state?” she ventures. “We can hold him off. Long enough for the others to get us out of here.”

 

“Hell yeah.”

 

Even though he can’t see her, just hearing the sound of her voice is enough to get him through this.

 

He’ll make it.

 

+

 

Shredder comes back, what Raph assumes is tomorrow. He has a lantern with him this time, which he hangs up on a hook beside the bars, and that purely impassive look on his face.

 

Raph imagines his cell isn’t cold and empty. He imagines Leo and Donnie and Mikey beside him.

 

“I will ask you more questions. If I deem your answers satisfactory, perhaps Fishface will remember to bring you a meal today.”

 

Raph doesn’t say anything.

 

“Where is my daughter?”

 

“...”

 

“ _Where is Karai_?”

 

He groans out loud, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated motion. “Are you _deaf?_ I told you, I don’t know.”

 

Shredder is silent for a long time. He looks directly at the lantern, which is disconcerting purely because the light doesn’t seem to affect his vision in the slightest, as it would any other human.

 

“Raphael,” and Raph _winces_ and the sound of his name, “have you ever lost someone you love?”

 

The question catches him off guard, but he recovers well enough. “The fuck does a monster like you know about love?”

 

“If you had,” Saki continues, as if Raph hadn’t spoken, “you would understand why I am so desperate to find my daughter.”

 

“Dude -- for the love of-- she’s not _yours._ Leave her alone. You ever think that maybe, if she wanted to be with you, she’d come find you? Instead of doing her best to get the hell away from you?”

 

Shredder’s armor rattles--did he breathe? Did he shudder? Raph can’t tell.

 

“Do you care for April O’Neil?”

 

Raph knows his reaction to this is important; he can’t deny it, Shredder wouldn’t buy that for a second. “Don’t ask stupid questions,” he spits out instead.

 

“So then, you understand the importance of her safety and wellness? Does it infuriate you, to be in here without her, unable to ensure she is well?”

 

“Did you do something to her?” Raph asks immediately. “What did you _do_? Let me see her-- _let me see her right now._ ”

 

“I have told you already, your April is fine. You have no children, I do not expect you to understand the relationship between a father and child. But imagine the love you feel for her--imagine she was _lost_ and you had it within your power to find her. Imagine the pain. Would you not do anything it took to bring her back?”

 

 _Your April_ and _love_ are circling his head like an awful song. Raph wonders if she’s drugged again, or if part of his torture is having her awake and listening to this.

 

“Ya know what I think? I think, if April really felt the need to dump my ass and never look back, I _probably deserved it_.” It happened once, anyway, and just briefly remembering that pain made Raph’s whole heart ache.

 

Shredder snorts. “Your naivety is the only thing stopping me from putting an end to your insolence. Have caution, Raphael. I am not so desperate for conversation that I will tolerate your disrespect for much longer.”

 

He stands, and takes the lantern with him. “I am done, for now. Enjoy your meal.”

 

He’s barely gone before Fishface is there, sliding a bowl of rice through the space between the bars.

 

“What, no chopsticks?” Raph growls, somewhere close to a hysterical laugh, because _honestly_ , he expected a lot of things from Shredder, but a bowl of rice for his bound-and-interrogated prisoner was almost too much.

 

Fishface throws them at his head. Obviously, wrists still bound behind his back, Raph can’t pick them up. But he appreciates the sentiment.

 

He’s not proud of how he eats the rice--on his knees, face down in the bowl like a dog--but he didn’t realize how hungry he was. Which means at least 24 hours have passed and he and April are still down here. Still stuck.

 

Still waiting.  


+

 

This time, when Raph wakes up, he hauls himself up just in time to retch by the wall. Nothing comes up, but not for lack of trying--he’s just metabolized the rice so quickly there’s nothing left in his stomach. But his lips feel too thick and his head aches and he wishes he could throw up, just for some kind of relief.

 

“Oh, yeah,” says April, faintly, “the drugs do that.”

 

“...the rice?” Raph hates how weak his voice sounds.

 

“Yup. 100% drugged. I’ve gotten two doses now. That’s probably your first.” She snorts. “It’s only that bad the first time.”

 

He just groans and shifts on to his side, breathing slow. “This _sucks_.”

 

“At least I’m awake for you. You were asleep when I went through this.”

 

“Shredder.” Damn, Raph hates how sick he feels, he can barely talk. “Did he…?”

 

“He asked me about Karai. I told him I haven’t seen her in months, then I told him to go sit on a cactus.”

 

Raph laughs outright, even though it makes him feel dizzy and depraved of much needed oxygen.

 

“I asked to see you,” she adds. There’s a heavy pause before she continues, “Demanded, more like. After he was finished calling me insolent, he said he’d think about it.”

 

“Probably a lie,” Raph manages. “Maybe a trick.”

 

“Yeah, but what’s it mean? What’s he getting at here?”

 

“No clue.” He grins. “Keep driving him crazy though, at least we can have that.”

 

April laughs, a sad sound that’s almost instantly swallowed up in the dark. “I like that plan.”

 

+

 

He gets another bowl of drugged rice an indeterminable amount of time later. And he’s so hungry, he eats it anyway.

 

When he wakes up, he’s thrown into another session with Shredder. Despite feeling groggy and sick, all he does is demand to see April.

 

It must drive Saki up the wall. Every question is met with another irate demand: “Let me see her, let me see her, let me see her….”

 

At last, he stands, frustrated but too full of himself to ever show it. Raph watches smugly as he collects his lantern and briskly strides out.

 

Snidely, over his shoulder, Shredder says, “I’ve assured that your April is alive, but if you insist on seeing her, I will have that arranged.”

 

Raph reels. That _worked?_ He’s never been in a hostage situation this long, but he really didn’t think being the mouse in this game would allow for his demands to be met--

 

“But not,” says Shredder, “without a price.”

 

And he leaves.

 

Time passes. It’s impossible to tell how long without the sun or a clock or anything but thick shadows all around, but time passes and then the door Shredder left from opens wide and Tiger Claw strolls in, dragging something behind him. He slides the bars over, opening Raph’s cell, and tosses in April’s limp body.

 

“Your girlfriend, as you requested,” he says, smirking, and slams the bars close again.

 

Raph waits until he’s gone to rush to April’s side--a nearly impossible task, since his skin started to buzz the second he saw her. But he shuffles on his knees and looks her up and down, bile rising in his throat as he takes in the bruises covering her pale skin.

 

Her face seems to have suffered worse. She’s got an awful shiner on her left eye, a few scratches and smaller bruises littered across her cheeks. Across her stomach are four clear claw marks, barely hidden beneath the shredded fabric of her shirt.

 

He can’t stop the roll of curses that come out of his mouth. He leans forward to press his head to her chest, listening for any sign of life anything at all--

 

She’s breathing. Thank the fucking gods, at least she’s breathing.

Raph can’t do anything with his hands literally tied; the best he can do is work her head into his lap, and wait.

 

His head hurts and so does the rest of him, and in an effort to not lose his mind he goes over the past interactions with Saki, trying to find his game. All he can think about is how he keep saying _your April_ and the terror that comes with that. If Saki suspects _anything_ about how he feels about April, it’s nightmarish to even imagine what he might do with that information.

 

In fact, this is probably a warning. April, beaten and bruised, tossed about like a rag. Saki probably thinks that if Raph is _really_ in love with her, this’ll be his breaking point.

 

Well. He’s only half right.

 

April slowly stutters to life, coughing and hacking and shuddering breaths, and Raph waits and waits until she can sit up, wincing as she strains through her pain.

 

“April…” he says quietly, and he doesn’t have the strength to be embarrassed about how much emotion he let slip.

 

“I--I’m okay.” It takes more than one try for her to get the words out. “It’s not that bad. My ribs and limbs are all intact. I think he only went for my face.”

 

It’s not comforting in the slightest, but Raph pretends it is. He also pretends to not be elated when she drags him into a tight hug--he notices her hands are free, and makes a note to exploit that.

 

For now, he buries his face into her neck and wishes he could hug her back.

 

+

 

“He was so eager to hit me he didn’t even notice when he broke the chains,” April explains. She’s behind Raph, freeing his hands. He wishes her touch wasn’t so light--he’s still reeling from seeing her so still and broken...he just wants to touch-to reassure himself she’s okay.

 

“Lucky break for us.”

 

“Oh yeah,” she snorts, “ _lucky_ is the word I’d use to describe us.”

 

“Tryna be optimistic here, Ape.”

 

“Try harder.” They fall into silence, as April works to pick the lock with the bobby pin she pulled out of her hair. “Listen, Raph. We need a plan. Shredder’s not done with us yet, there’s no way. He’ll be back, and we need to be ready.”

 

“He’s got this idea,” Raph offers, after serious reluctance. If this situation weren’t so dire--if he weren’t so dirty and filthy and tired, he might still have it in him to hide this from her. But for now, he’s happy to have her with him, he can’t imagine keeping any more secrets than he needs to. “He thinks….”

 

There’s no easy way to say this.

 

“He thinks I’m in love with you.”

 

“Oh,” April says, and her hands still for barely a second before she continues and tries to gloss over it.

 

He exhales as quietly as possibly, on high alert for her reaction, but she seems to be keeping it together incredibly well. Under lock and key. Now isn’t the time for a confession, especially not one that literally confirms their captor’s seemingly wild theory, but Raph wishes…

 

Well, there’s no time for wishing now. Just action.

 

“We can-- we can do something with that,” Raph says in a rush. “He thinks he’s right. If he thinks you’re a weakness for me, maybe I can play him instead.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

Her tone makes his heart sink. Even after she successfully undoes the lock, and he at last can rotate some feeling back into his shoulders, Raph feels like a horrible weight’s been dropped directly onto his chest.

 

+

 

They make a plan.

 

Distraction. Get Saki so riled up he can’t even think straight, then bust out after he’s slipped up. Given their record of pissing Shredder off, it should be easy.

 

The problem is, it might be _too_ easy. If they piss him off too much, they risk death. If they don’t piss him off enough, he might not be distracted enough.

 

Splinter always talked about balance; it’s about time Raph started to heed his advice.

+

 

The first session putting their plan into attempt is cut short; Shredder’s barely started his interrogation when he receives a call and departs without saying a word.

 

April checks the bars. They’re still locked up tight.

 

“Dammit,” she says. “I didn’t even get a chance to call him buckethead.”

 

“Next time,” Raph replies reassuringly, and then they wait.

 

+

 

The next session, Shredder’s voice booms into the cell and he clutches the bars so hard Raph thinks they might _bend_ , but he leaves abruptly once again--not even turning around when Raph works up a big, wet, glob of spit and hails at his retreating back.

 

He’s starting to wonder if this plan is going to get them killed before it has a chance to help them escape.

 

+

 

Shredder loses his patience during the next session.

 

“You are together. You have been given food and water. I have met your needs, now you will meet mine,” Saki growls. “I will ask once again: _where is my daughter?_ ”

 

Raph hates their plan. He _hates_ it. Almost as much as he hates Shredder. He hates that he has no choice, hates that he only option is at the bottom of the barrell. Nonetheless, he gives April a sad, tired look that she returns with one of her own.

 

“Ya know, as far as we’re concerned, you don’t _have_ a daughter,” he says.

 

“Oruku Karai is _my own_ and you will tell me where she is.”

 

“You can’t own a person,” April says, “last time that was a thing, we called it slavery and fought a civil war about it. But, if you feel like bringing it back, by all means, go right the hell ahead.”

 

Shredder levels a glare at her, his gaze so piercing it’s as if he could melt through the iron bars with little more than a glance. “She is _mine_ ,” he says again.

 

“She’s not a possession,” April snaps back, the defensive hunch of her shoulders strangely similar to Leo’s whenever he’s having the same argument. “You act like it kills you on the inside to lose her--but she was _never_ yours in the first place.”

 

There’s a tense silence, save for Shredder’s ragged breathing, that Raph recognizes as April trying to focus. He glances at her, and sure enough her eyes are closed tight and her lips are pressed tightly together; she’s concentrating, doing everything she can to get _something_ on Shredder, read his emotions or sense his mind or _anything,_ anything at all to piss him off. When she opens her eyes, there’s a certain glint to them, and Raph knows she’s found something.

 

(He knows April, for the most part, hates her Kraang-given powers. And she must hate that the plan calls for her to use them--but maybe, just maybe, for this instance, she doesn’t mind being an empath all that much.)

 

“Karai’s not yours and she never was,” April says again, careful with each word. “And neither was her mother. Neither was _Tang Shen_.”

 

Shredder doesn’t even give them a warning--he flings open the bars of the cell and storms inside, a flurry of barely-contained rage and rattling armor. April scrambles to get away, whimpering loudly as she prepares herself for his strike, and then Raph shuts his eyes and throws himself in front of her.

 

The pain from Shredder’s open palm is dizzying. The slap catches him right across the face, whipping his head to the side fast enough that it _definitely_ doesn’t make his concussion any better. Raph ignores the swelling of his cheek and growls low, in the back of his throat.

 

“Don’t fucking _touch her._ ”

 

“Very well,” says Shredder, and strikes him again, this time with a closed fist. And again. And _again._

 

This is what April went through before Tiger Claw dragged her into his cell, except she was alone and he never even heard her scream. April is backed up against the far wall and she’s _screaming_ and Raph is too, and only the Shredder is silent in his assault.

 

"I'm sorry!" April shouts, voice raw. "I'm sorry-- _stop hurting him-- Listen to me, I'm so sorry--"_

 

When Shredder’s finally satisfied, Raph’s vision is spotted, and he can taste blood in his mouth.

 

“I will kill you if you ever speak her name again,” Shredder tells April, plaintively, and surprisingly calm for a man who just finished beating a kid into a pulp. He turns to Raph, who’s slumped over at his feet, curled up and shuddering with waves of pain. “I will kill you first, Raphael, and then your girlfriend can suffer alone.”

 

“She’s not…” god, he _hurts_ , hurts all over, “she’s not my…”

 

“I’m _not_ his girlfriend,” April squeaks, with just the right amount of terror and dejectedness in her voice to make it sound completely unbelievable.

 

Shredder smirks as he leaves.

 

And, in his satisfaction, forgets to lock the bars to their cell.

 

April scrambles on all fours to him, whispering gentle words and in a calming voice as she cups his head in her hands. “I never wanna see you get hit like that again. And you just-you just _took it_ , god, you didn’t even _move_.”

 

Raph can’t reassure her or do much besides suck in air, so he let’s himself be held, and gives her hand a squeeze by way of apology.

 

It takes a while for the pain to ebb. Too long. Valuable time.

 

“I-I think I’m good, now.”

 

“You look awful,” April tell him, her eyes shining slightly.

 

“You don’t look much better.”

 

“That’s not something you say to your girlfriend,” April scolds, eyebrows raised high. Unfortunately, a tear rolls down her cheek, ruining the effect, but Raph gets it anyway. He looks away when she rubs the tear away with the back of her hand, deciding that wiping it away himself would probably just make things worse.

 

Speaking of worse--he can’t remember the last time he was busted up this badly. It’s a miracle he’s even conscious right now; if he thinks too hard about it, the fact that he hasn’t had more than rice and water for at least a handful of days now makes him want to pass out on the spot.

 

“When we bust outta here I’ll treat you to a nice dinner,” he promises. “Now let’s get moving.”

 

April’s got limited vision, thanks to the shiner on her eye, so Raph has to lead them. They slide open the bars together, slowly, carefully, quietly as possible.

 

Maybe if he didn’t feel like his brain was leaking out his nose, he’d be a little more self-conscious about how easily April fits against him, her arm around his shoulders as he somehow supports both her weight and his own. For now, he’s focused on one thing only: getting the hell out of here. Protect her. Even while his own blood is dribbling down the side of his chin, all Raph can think about is April, digging her fingers into his shell and desperately doing all she can to just _hold on_.

 

His lip is busted open, the pain not quite numb, but almost a dull tingle he can pretty much ignore. He takes inventory on all the other injured parts of him; a bump is starting to swell up on his forehead, the skin on his left cheek was ripped open and bleeding--his right wrist hurt from trying to block a hit to the plastron, which at least was successful, even if it made his wrist sore. At least, he hoped it was sore, and not actually broken. Plus the concussion from Tiger Claw.

 

Leo suffered all this and more--internal shit Raph thankfully doesn’t have to deal with--and lived, so Raph steels himself and resolves to do the same.

 

“Raph--”

 

April’s voice is practically shaking, and he can’t tell why. They haven’t even made it out of the dungeon yet. But she’s pointing forward, and her hand is shaking, and when Raph follows her finger his blood runs cold.

 

“Where,” says Tiger Claw, with a crack of his knuckles, “do you think _you’re_ going?”

 

Raph can’t think because he’s brain’s still swimming but he has enough sense to push April behind him and set his feet in a solid stance. On one hand, taunting Tiger Claw is one of his favorite things to do. But on the other, he’s already on the brink and doesn’t want to push Tiger Claw any further.

 

So he keeps his mouth shut tight.

 

“Did you really think you could escape by walking out the front door?” Tiger Claw laughs. “Turtle, you and your girlfriend are far more stupid than I ever thought possible.”

 

Raph clenches his fist, but doesn’t say anything. Behind him, April is breathing hard, hot puffs he can feel on his neck. He doesn’t wonder about her injuries, or how underwhelming their plan ultimately was, or that it’ll fail.

 

Instead, he wonders what it would be like to die with her.

 

She’s spit in the face of death before--back in North Hampton and even before then--and has never given two shits about the fact he--Raph, and his brothers--make her life a living hell two times out of three. She laughs at him like she’s not afraid of him, because she’s _not_ , and Raph likes that. And she’s got a lot of plans for her future, and never ever, not even once, as she excluded his family from them.

 

It wouldn’t be so bad to die with her, he thinks.

 

April makes a tiny sound, a soft sigh that reaches his skin, as if letting him know that she returns the sentiment. (And she might’ve read his emotions, or sensed them, or whatever it is she does. Raph doesn’t care. He’s just grateful for her.)

 

“I am going to call for the Shredder. He can clean up what I leave of you two.”

 

 _It wouldn’t be so bad to die with her,_ Raph reminds himself, and somehow, that calms him.

 

Tiger Claw speaks easily into a comm. link on his wrist, and when he lowers his hand he’s practically glowing. Well, he’s a bastard, one who takes pleasure in torturing children, but even if he’s beaten black and blue there’s no way in hell Raph’s gonna go down easy.

 

“The Shredder’s on his way,” Tiger Claw informs him, sounding very pleased with himself.

 

Though it hurts to talk with his busted lip, Raph bursts out, “You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?”

 

He still has April behind him. He doesn’t have any control over the situation, but at least he has that--

 

He feels her shift. And Tiger Claw surges forward, but when Raph prepares for impact he’s suddenly blocked by red hair and outstretched arms and before him, April takes the brunt of Tiger Claw’s meaty fist.

 

It gets her in the stomach, and she makes a wet, strangled sound that Raph can barely hear because of the anger pumping in his veins.

 

She stumbles back a few inches, then takes another hit, this time to the face, and still doesn’t go down. Weakly, she throws a punch at Tiger Claw, but he catches her fist and--

 

The rest Raph doesn’t see because he shuts his eyes and blindly tackles the other mutant, yelling a sound of pure rage all the while. It hurts him more than it hurts Tiger Claw, but he does drop April, at least.

 

She stumbles again, and wavers from side to side, then smiles a big, red, wet smile and spits off to the side. Raph glances at her just long enough to get blindsided by a kick, hears something crack, and goes sprawling beside her.

 

And April fucking _laughs._

 

Raph can hear footsteps, which must be the Shredder, and April is laughing through blood like a madman and he _aches_ from top to bottom, barely able to get to his feet, let alone try to protect April again.

 

Not that she seems to need it. Her knees wobble but she finds the strength to put up two steady middle fingers, never breaking Tiger’s Claw gaze.

 

“Get fucking _wrecked_ ,” she tells him, and in the same moment, a thousand things seem to happen at once.

 

The lights go out, and Raph immediately grabs for April, who grabs him back and holds on tight. Then he feels the slightest breeze by him, and a pair of glowing eyes winks in the dark.

 

Raph has never been so happy to not see his brothers in his whole life.

 

He hears Tiger Claw grunt, and then someone slides an arm under his shoulders and burdens his weight. “You’re safe now,” and that’s Leo’s voice--and Raph nearly laughs at the sound.

 

The rest of the rescue happens too fast and it’s too dark and his head hurts too much, but Raph suddenly tastes the crispness of fresh air and sucks it in so fast it makes him dizzy. His right leg is _throbbing_ and is almost completely unresponsive, forcing Leo to bear most of his weight. He’s smiling like an asshole though, and even though he can’t see where April is, by this point he’s gotten into the habit of assuming she’s at his side.

 

“April. _April_?”

 

She’s swept up in Mikey’s arms, bridal style, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m here, Raph.”

 

 _Of course you are,_ he doesn’t say. Instead, he grins, “Guess I owe you dinner, huh?”

 

And he doesn’t care if his brothers don’t get the joke; for Raph and April, it’s the funniest goddamn thing in the world.

 

+

 

Dungeons really fuck with your sense of time, Raph learns later, because it was actually _two fucking weeks_ he and April spent in one, as opposed to the few days he had originally thought.

 

He takes the news in stride though. Figuratively speaking, of course, since Donnie’s pretty sure his leg’s broken and he’s not really striding anywhere.

 

Donnie and Leo had constructed something like a hospital bed in the lab, sheets and pillows and all, and had the good sense to keep Raph and April as close together as possible. They aren’t holding hands--April has too many broken fingers for that, and Raph _did_ break his wrist as he’d feared--but they’re as close as they can get under the thin sheet blanket.

 

They’re clean now. Raph doesn’t remember that part, but he’s thankful for it. Spending fourteen days in his own filth and blood was enough to make him want to hurl for the next three months.

 

“It’s okay, guys,” April is saying.

 

Raph blinks. The lights are dim, bless Donnie’s careful attention to detail, and his head is pounding, but Leo and Donnie both look awful. Like, ‘haven’t slept in days’ awful. He can’t see Mikey or Casey or Splinter but he assumes they must look just as bad, if not worse.

 

“No,” Leo grinds out. “It’s not. It’s unacceptable. We should’ve tried harder to break you out--we should’ve gotten you out _two weeks ago,_ April, how can you say this is okay? You two could’ve--”

 

“Died?” Raph says, effectively startling Leo.

 

His big brother casts his eyes downward and doesn’t look up again.

 

“Well, shit, Leo. You don’t think we can handle two weeks of a little torture?”

 

April snorts, to Donnie and Leo’s horror.

 

“She’s right,” Raph says. “It’s fine.”

 

Donnie tugs at his goggles, snapping them off his face to reveal the tired, sad eyes beneath. “But we should’ve been _better._ We should’ve--”

 

“Don, it’s _fine_!” says April.

 

“No it’s not--”

 

“Ugh!” Raph rubs at his face, wincing when he comes in contact with bruises, but it helps clear his eyes so he can focus on his brothers better. “It’s not okay. We’re not okay. We’re fucked up beyond belief and it’s all because you didn’t save us--is that what you want to hear?”

 

Leo recoils, as if Raph had up and slapped him across the face. “No, of course not--”

 

“Then shut up! You got us out, and we’re grateful. Leo, I could _kiss_ you right now--trust me, we’re fucking grateful. Thank you, man. Really. We’re not as fucked up as it looks. You guys literally saved our lives, and it doesn’t matter when you did, just that it happened at all. So thank you.”

 

April interrupts, raising her bandaged hand to signal for Leo and Donnie to shut up. “Leo, Donnie, you and Mikey and Casey pulled us out of hell, and you didn’t get caught up in the flames. You got us out. I can’t say thank you enough times,” and she gives a watery smile as she says it. “And no offense, I’d love to sing your praises a little longer, but I’ve got a headache and I just want to lay here with Raph for a while, if that’s okay.”

 

Leo makes as if to say something, but Donnie puts a hand on his shoulder. He turns to April, and it’s not until now that Raph notices how wet his eyes are. “Get some rest, and let us know if you need anything. The pain meds should kick in any second now,” he says, then gives Leo a hard nudge.

 

Leo can’t hold their gaze for more than a few seconds. “I’m sorry,” he says again, quieter this time. Then he lets Donnie lead him out of the lab.

 

They leave silence behind them. Raph rests his head into his pillow and sighs quietly.

 

“Your brothers are ridiculous,” April says flatly.

“I don’t blame them. I’d feel the same way. I’d probably be beating myself about it too, actually, if the Shredder and his goons hadn’t done such a good damn job already.”

 

She smiles, tiredly, sadly. “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t worry me that you’re already cracking jokes about this whole thing.”

 

Raph shrugs. “Laugh or cry, ya know? It’s one or the other, and I’m not a big fan of waterworks.”

 

She smiles again, a little more watery this time. “Raph. I’m only gonna say this once, so listen closely, okay? Before the pain meds kick in we both pass out again.”

 

“Not gonna lie, I’m looking forward to that--”

 

“I love you,” says April. “Funny how I never really realized it until we were ready to die together.”

 

Raph’s gone still all over. He’s quiet for a long time, scared to ruin the moment. At length, he grunts quietly, “It’s not that funny.” 

 

“Really? That’s it? You’re not going to give me shit about my timing?”

 

 Raph snorts out loud at that. “April, you’re talking to the guy who confessed in a _dungeon_. After getting _drugged_.”  

 

“You didn’t confess anything,” April argues. “All you said was that the Shredder _thought_ you were in love with me.” 

 

“Yeah, but I never said he was _wrong_.”

 

She looks confused for a moment, then excited all at once, the tired in her expression giving way to real joy that he hasn’t seen on her in weeks. It’s a little contagious, actually.

 

He finds himself mirroring her, smile stretched wide across his face when he finally passes out.


	3. Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word: Strawberries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really lame andshort and fluffy bye

Casey spends a solid week and a half whining about snake poisoning-and the subsequent snake bites on his ass. He makes a series of horrible faces in Raph's direction, voice creeping up higher in pitch the whinier he gets.

"I woulda sucked poison outta  _your_ ass," he says moodily.

Raph just gives him a look.

"Well it's  _true_."

" _Casey_ ," Raph says, just shy of losing his cool. "As much as I love listening to you whine about your ass, could you shut the hell up? All of us got hit with that poison, alright? I  _know_ it sucks."

It sucks a lot, and April hasn't been to the lair in days ever since it happened. He suspects Kirby took her to a hospital-not out of distrust for Splinter's abilities, but because he's a worrywart at heart and he's justified in having more faith in modern medicine than whatever it was that Splinter had done. April texts him when she can, but most of her energy is being diverted to getting better.

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing, dude. And I swear, if you bring up that kiss with Karai again..." He swells up his chest. "As her brother, I'm fully within my rights to kick your ass into next Tuesday."

Casey raises his eyebrows up at him, silent for the first time in days. "Brother?"

"Yeah,  _brother_." Raph rubs at the back of his neck. "None of this is really her fault. She's not herself right now."

"But why now? A week ago you were ready to give up on her."

Raph winces, and Casey seems to be apologetic almost immediately. "You're right," Raph admits. "But the more I thought about it… she's not in control of herself at all. Shredder took away her willpower-he turned her into a weapon, and all he's gotta do is pull the trigger.  _No one_  does that to a Hamato and gets away with it."

"You're a good brother," Casey says, so sincere it actually catches Raph off-guard.

He's pleased, nonetheless.

"Still shoulda sucked the poison outta me, though," Casey grumbles, and the moment is gone.

* * *

 

Raph has double-patrol duty while Leo recovers from his extensive fight against Karai and her poison. He got hit with a much heavier dose than the rest of them; his body needs time to heal. Raph doesn't really mind, since the late nights give him plenty of time to talk to April.

 _at least no new mutants have showed up,_ he texts April.

His phone dings with her reply a few moments later.  _don't jinx us, por favor._

_honestly? i wouldnt mind some fresh meat rn. i'm getting bored._

He imagines the look of exasperation on April's face when she reads that, and he smiles a little at the thought.

_you're 100% crazy._

_eh,_ he says,  _you're not wrong._

The east side is clear, so Raph changes direction and heads west. Leo's patrol covers a ridiculous amount of ground. It's no surprise the kid can run miles without getting winded; Raph's not into cardio like this, and he's starting to feel a little winded.

_how're you feeling btw?_

_better. dad says he'll let me go back to school next week._

_is that a good thing?_

_blessing and a curse, tbh._

Raph's technically supposed to cover the east side, but the chances of a mutant popping up in the time it takes him to take a small detour are pretty low. Or so he hopes. Instead, he crosses the street and swings down the edge of a red-brick building, perching himself on the fire escape as he taps out,  _open your window._

… _.what?_

Raph waits outside on the railing until April sticks her head out the window, and he beams brightly when she rolls her eyes at him.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," she says, smiling faintly. "Wanna come in?"

"Nah, I shouldn't stay too long. I'm covering Leo's patrol while he gets better."

"How much longer?"

"A couple days, I hope, but Donnie says it could be more. He went through a  _lot_ shit, and he's still not 100% from his toe-to-toe with Shredder, even though he pretends he is. Now it's just a matter of making sure he doesn't catch a bug while his immune system's still shot."

April makes a face, and gingerly sits upon her window sill. "Yikes. Are you worried?"

"No," says Raph, surprising himself. "Leo's been through worse. I'm more worried about  _you_."

"Don't be," she says dismissively, and runs her hands through her hair. "I feel fine, for the most part. I'm not having any more snake dreams, at least."

He gives her a look. "Does she-Karai-scare you?"

April purses her lips, considering the question carefully. "The Shredder does, and I fear what he'll force Karai to do. But I haven't been scared of her since I threw her down the subway stairs."

"Good." The relief he feels seeps into his voice. "When we finally get her out of his mess, I want you guys to-uh, get along, I guess. It'd be weird if you were scared of my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah," he nods. "My sister."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad you came to terms with that. I know it's...hard to think of her as anything besides the enemy."

"Is it ok if we don't talk about her? I feel like that's all anyone ever talks about lately. I'd rather talk about  _you_."

"Oh yeah?"

"Hell yeah," he says. "We can braid each other's hair and talk about your deepest, darkest, secrets."

She laughs at that, shoving at him lightly, too weak still to muster up anything with genuine heat behind it. "Maybe some other time. Get out of here, you butt. And text me when you get home so I know you made it back safe."

"Aye aye, cap'n," he says.

* * *

 

_home safe :0_

_good. make sure everyone's ok. is casey staying with you guys?_

_yeah, he's still too chicken to go home,_ Raph types,  _plus he's fighting with his dad again_

_uh oh._

_ikr? wanna do breakfast tomorrow? splinter makes me walk casey home, i'll stop by after i drop him off_

_he trusts the two of you to be alone together outside of the lair?_

_you jealous? ;)_

_ew,_ April says, then _, but yes to breakfast. bring waffles or you're dead to me_

_aye aye cap_

_great. can't wait_

_u miss me already? ;)))_

_eW_

* * *

 

Raph brings waffles-with strawberries-the next morning, and a heartfelt message from Casey. "He says he can't wait for you to get better so he can kick your ass at Mario Kart again without feeling bad."

April doesn't even pause in her attempt to unbox her breakfast. "That's our Casey. He's got a way with words."

Murakami doesn't usually make breakfasts, but he's got a soft spot for Raph and his brothers and an even  _bigger_  one for April. The waffles are fluffy and Belgian style, topped with whip cream and dotted with strawberries. There's even a note that says  _Enjoy!_ in deliberate kanji.

They taste  _amazing,_ to say the least.

"Murakami really outdid himself with this," Raph says appreciatively.

April's grinning around a giant mouthful of waffle, whip cream smeared across her lips. She shoves her glasses up her nose with the tip of her pinkie and swallows. "That man is a  _genius_  and we don't deserve him."

"More like you don't deserve me," he corrects. "I should get a thousand brownie points for this. I don't even get  _Mikey_ breakfast."

"You're so good to me," April says dryly.

"Damn straight."

"Aren't ninjas supposed to be humble?"

He takes one look at her and snorts out loud. "Aren't kunoichis supposed to be able to eat without missing their face?"

April scowls and wipes her face with the heel of her hand, managing to do little more than spread the whipped cream around. Before he knows what he's doing, Raph leans forward and catches her chin with his hand as he cleans up the spots she missed with his thumb.

It's not until he passes over her lips that he realizes what he's doing-and that April is getting pinker and pinker by the second, her eyes huge as she stares at him. He flushes under her gaze and jerks his hand away.

"You, uh, missed a spot," he says, staring very diligently at the ground.

"Oh. Um. Thanks."

An awkward pause follows, and Raph wonders why she's making such a big deal out of it. So he wiped her face? So what! That was a thing friends did for friends-especially best friends, close friends, like they were. It doesn't make any sense why she's blushing under her glasses, avoiding his eyes like she's never spoken to him before.

"...I sparred with Splinter two days ago."

"And?"

"He wiped the floor with me. But I grazed him with my roundhouse kick."

And just like that, the moment passes over, and April looks bright and interested as she leans forward and awaits the rest of his story.

The rest of their breakfast goes by quickly as they share story after story, and at last, when Raph climbs out the window of her room, he's almost forgotten the blush that stained her cheeks only minutes before.

 _Almost_.

* * *

 

Mikey spends too much time on the internet, Raph decides that afternoon, after he gets assaulted by his little brother waving his phone around.

"Raph, dude, you ever heard of zodiac signs and astrology? It's so cool! There's a bull and a pair of twins and a lion-and they're all made out of stars and-"

Raph covers his mouth with his hand. "Stop. Think it over. Give it to me in five words or less."

Mikey blinks at him a few times, then pushes his hand away and says, "Did you know we're Libras?"

"The hell is a Libra?"

The explanation lasts 20 minutes and the online quizzes they decide to do last even longer. Eventually, they wind up splayed out on beanbags, laughing at outrageous horoscopes on the internet.

"Raphie, this one's about fallin' in  _loove_."

"Boo," says Raph in a perfect monotone. "Find another one about rock bands."

"No, dude, wait. Apparently we've got a lot of luck with, uh, Aries? Arieses? Whatever the word is; we can pick them up easy."

"Oh, yeah?" Raph smirks, while Mikey makes a ridiculous face he probably thinks is attractive. "What are the dates for Aries?"

"Uh, looks like the end of March and part of April. Like, early April."

Raph checks the date on his phone. "Well it's the 30th of March right now. So we're dead-center in Aries season, Mikey. You ready for it?"

"Nice!" he responds, and goes out for a fist jab. "Oh, dude! That reminds me, April's birthday's in two days. April first," he pauses to laugh. "She says her mom thought it'd be cute if she had the same name as her birth month."

Raph says nothing.

"Raph? Raphie?"

"I'm good," Raph lies, and puts on a stony face. "Wanna take the quiz about what kind of skateboard we'd be?"

* * *

 

_do you like strawberries?_

_raph its 1 am. why are you texting me about strawberries._

_im asking for science :/_

_is donnie trying to experiment again,_ April says,  _because i will get a restraining order on his nerdy ass_

_donnies not involved, i just wanna know_

_WHY_

_bC I DO :(_

_fine...yes. i LOVE strawberries, they're my favorite. ….why do you ask?_

_like i said,_ says Raph.  _for science._

* * *

 

On April first, a perfectly round strawberry shortcake sits outside April's window, decorated with lovely white icing and strawberries. Lots, and lots of strawberries.

The icing doesn't spell out anything on the cake, but the scrawled note propped up against it says,  _hbd ape,_ and on the back,  _told ya it was for science._

It's the best cake April's ever tasted.


End file.
